Newark

Newark stands at a crossing of the River Trent, where its castle overlooks the bridge and a road linking northern and southern England. The medieval market town became a crucial Royalist stronghold during the Civil War. Its position allowed the garrison to defend the crossing and threaten Parliamentary communications. Newark endured three sieges between 1643 and 1646. Disease and hunger afflicted the inhabitants as armies fought around the town, but the defenders held out until Charles I ordered their surrender in May 1646. Parliament then ordered the castle and siege works dismantled. The surviving riverside walls preserve the outline of the stronghold that had resisted for so long.